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Minnesota
St Paul is the capital of Minnesota and is located next to Minneapolis. These two cities make up the Twin Cities. Outside of New York City, the Twin Cities offers one of the most exciting performing arts communities. There are symphony and jazz concerts, art museums, opera, dance and Broadway touring shows. There are also historic sites and ethnic festivals to celebrate Minnesota’s rich cultural heritage If the outdoors is more your style there is plenty to do in Minnesota, there are 72 parks and recreation areas and 58 State forests including many wildlife preserves. There are hiking trails where you will see all kinds of wildlife, paved trails for that peaceful walk among nature and some of the best fishing is found in Minnesota. For winter time fun, there are well-groomed cross-country trails and downhill skiing. For the more adventurous, there are 20,000 miles of snowmobile trails and 900 miles of ATV trails that cross the Minnesota soil. Minnesota also has the first “bicycle freeway” in the nation. The Cedar Lake Regional Trail is approximately 9 miles long.
Minnesota has been home to the Target Corporation since 1962 with the flag ship store located in the heart of downtown. Mall of America, the country’s largest shopping complex, has more than 520 stores, a 14 screen movie theater and more than 20 restaurants. As an interesting side note, the Mary Tyler Moore statue is located on Nicolette Mall in downtown Minnesota. This is where she filmed the opening segment of her TV show. Even in the midst of a busy city environment, there are many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors in Minnesota. There are nearly 200 miles of recreational paths going through the metro area. No resident lives more than 6 blocks from a park with more than 170 parks and 22 lakes located in Minnesota. The University of Minnesota is located in Minnesota along with many private and public institutions. There are more than 50,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students attending these schools.
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Minnesota, known as the “Land
of 10,000 Lakes”, has an estimated population of over 5 million people and ranks
as one of the healthiest states in the nation.